A Missing Step
by thetalkingwave
Summary: (AU) Tatsumaki, not willing to accept anyone being stronger than her, dons a disguise to catch Saitama off guard. All is planned out, but another step manages to appear. (Slight OOC)
1. The Disguised Citizen

Tap. Tap.

Where is he?" she grumbled.

She continued tapping her fingers against the table. She glanced at the clock.

He was 10 minutes late. While waiting her mind drifted towards why she was at the cafe in the first place.

-A week earlier-

Tatsumaki was walking around City Z, dressed as a civilian. She wore a long brown wig with slight curls on its tips. A pink long sleeve and a long brown skirt completed her ensemble, with the skirt hiding the brown heels she put on. Since a warning from the Association had been called out a earlier, a demon threat, she was one of the few people about. She heard a loud crash and heavy breathing. Turning around, she saw a large bear like creature. Her eyes widened, her hands were trembling and she whimpered slightly. Internally however, she scoffed at the idea of this creature harming her. As the bear's claws began to swipe down at her, a streak of yellow stopped it from touching her and the bear was obliterated.

The streak of yellow reached the ground and was replaced by a tall bald man.

"Are you alright?" Saitama asked. "Yes, thank you." Tatsumaki replied.

He nodded slightly and began walking away, before she ran up and grabbed his arm. "Wait! I want to thank you for saving me. The Grand Cafe, 6:00, my treat!"

she exclaimed, perfecting her tone to one of slight embarrassment. Saitama stared at her slightly, before reverting back to his blank face and accepted her offer.

As he walked away again, she grinned. All was going according to plan.

"Well, it will be unless this stupid baldy doesn't bother showing up." she thought in annoyance. A bell rung in the distance, not unnoticed by Tatsumaki.

She turned around slightly, her face hitting a soft surface.

"Hello. Sorry I'm late, a monster was nearby and I also needed directions."

Saitama waved slightly, a small smile on his face, as he moved slightly to remove Tatsumaki's face from his arm. He sat down in the single chair across from her.

Clearing her throat, Tatsumaki turned around to face him.

"No it's fine, I was a bit worried, that's all. Now that you're here, I want to get to know my hero more." she said, resting her hand underneath her chin, while tilting her head.

"Okay. But, how about you tell me about yourself a bit more first?" Saitama said, not picking up on her body language. She nodded.

" My name is Tamaki and I moved to City Z recently. I have heard many stories about you and wanted to see how true those stories were."

She said her rehearsed lines, in a tone of slight shyness. Saitama nodded, noticing the shyness in her voice. " Welcome to City Z. Besides some monster attacks here and there, it's not too bad." He said, a small smile on his face as he shrugged.

"Udon is pretty good and cheap, too", he teased her slightly, since the Grand Cafe was famed for its expensive items. A waitress walked towards their table, handing them their menus. "I'll be back in a few minutes to take your order" she said.

While Saitama glanced at the menu ("1000¥ for a bowl of udon. Must be a pretty big bowl." he mumbled.), Tatsumaki couldn't concentrate on ordering her meal as she was rehearsing her lines over and over in her head.

"All the plan is is becoming his friend as Tamaki, then while he's not suspecting anything, attack him," She paused, "But I feel like this is going down hill"

She groaned, placing a fist against her cheek. Saitama looked up

"Can't decide, Tamaki?" He asked, while scratching his cheek.

Tatsumaki gave him a questioning look, then realized she never even glanced at her menu. "Yep, heh. I'll just get the same thing as you did, I guess." She mumbled, looking awkwardly at her lap. Saitama nodded. "Ok, so two bowls of udon, then?"

"Yes." The waitress came over, interrupting their quiet conversation. "Are you two ready?" she asked, taking out her notepad. "Two udons please." Tatsumaki said.

The waitress wrote down the order and left the heroes alone again.

"So, what are your hobbies?" Tatsumaki asked, breaking the ice.

" Being a hero is a hobby, except now I'm an official one." He shrugged.

She was quite surprised at his answer and she blinked rapidly him.

She felt a small smile creep up on her face, "Well, you're pretty good at your hobby, then." As Saitama was about to reply, "Udons for two" stopped his response.

After the brief silence between them, the conversation went along smoothly.

"So, what caused you to move to City Z?"

"You want the real response?"

"Sure."

"It's really cheap."

"Yep. Rent's cheap, and a lot of sales on the weekends."

Saitama stood still for a moment before pulling out a flyer,pointing to its contents.

Saitama smiled at his slightly shorter companion, before asking, "Do you want to go to the supermarket with me then? Genos is going to be at a meeting tomorrow."

Tatsumaki, knowing she could find her way out of a meeting,agreed.

"So, see you tomorrow then?" She nodded. "Ok. See you at 8 am."

She saw his figure getting further and further. Once she couldn't see him, she surrounded herself in a green aura and flew off to her abode.

Once she reached her apartment, she took off her disguise, and hid it in her closet.

She took out her plan, checking off what she already completed.

1\. Get rescued by Saitama*

2\. Invite him to Grand Cafe*

3\. Strike up conversation, enough so he's interested*

4\. Ask to see him again or accept if he asks to*

5\. Become his "friend"

6\. Wait for the right moment

Tatsumaki smirked as she looked over her plan. "This'll be a piece of cake. After all, he asked ME to hang out again. Baldy doesn't even know what's coming."

She glanced down at herself. "And being a bit taller is a plus."

Saitama entered the apartment that he shared with Genos.

"Hey Genos, I'm back." Genos glanced up from his cleaning. "Ah, Master Saitama, welcome home." He put away the cleaning supplies."How was the 'thank you' dinner with the citizen?"

"It was a little strange, since I wasn't really expecting one in the first place." Saitama said, shrugging. "She was nice. Oh, and she's going to the sale with me tomorrow."

Genos nodded. "Good to know that you have found someone to take my place in your bargaining time. I hope she can keep up." "Two people taking on the job works out either way." Saitama stated. Genos took out his notebook, and wrote down his statement. "That is an excellent observation, Master Saitama." Saitama glanced at him scribbling away for a bit, before looking at the clock. He yawned, stretching. "Better go to sleep, gotta get up pretty early tomorrow. Night,Genos."

As Tatsumaki checked over her disguise for the next morning, and let herself fall back on her bed, a single thought rang out in her mind.

"What would be considered the right moment?"


	2. Sales!

**AN: Sorry for not including one in the last chapter, so here is the first author's note! :D**

 **Things that make this an AU are:**

 **Saitama vs Fubuki never happened**

 **Saitama vs Tatsumaki didn't' happen.**

 **The Garou Arc still applies.**

 **And thanks for the support ^u^)/**

Awakened by the sun shining through her open window, she floated up slowly from her bed.

She glanced at her clock. 7:00 am. Disgruntled, she put on her outfit for the day:

A baggy yellow T-shirt, black pants and old sneakers. She tied her wig up in a ponytail.

Although it sort of mattered to make a good impression, grocery shopping was not an extravagant activity. Crossing her arms and tapping her foot, she waited impatiently in her room for his text. Hearing a beep, she floated her phone towards her and flipped it open. Instead of glancing at a text, she heard Sitch speaking. "Tatsumaki, we have received your notice. You're permitted to skip this meeting." She mumbled "Ok," and hung up. Groaning, she paced around some more. "He said he would text by now." A beep came from her phone.

She sighed, then flipped it open. I'll meet you near the City River.- Saitama

Tatsumaki placed her phone back on her bed, then walked out of her apartment.

Floating over the city, she glanced around, looking for Saitama. When she saw him, she floated back down, and started walking about 2 yards away from where he was standing. Glancing up from his phone, he waved at her. "The store is a little farther up. We can get there in less than 20. If we run, that is."

Tatsumaki, although not one for running ,nodded. "Let's get going. "

The two were five minutes into their run when

*WHEEZE*

Saitama turned to look at the origin of the noise.

"We can walk the rest of the way-" "No! I got this!"

Sighing, Saitama shrugged. "We could try another way,but.."

"But what?" Apprehensively , Saitama told her "I can carry you."

Tatsumaki stared up at him. _Should I take his offer? It doesn't even look like he's that OK with carrying me._. "Sure. Thank you." She moved closer and he motioned her to hop on his back. With Tatsumaki clinging on tightly, Saitama ran to the supermarket.

"Here is the list. Ten items;five each." Saitama grinned slightly "We should have everything in 10 minutes."

Tatsumaki looked at her half of the list. " Crab meat, leek, cabbage, bananas, and kelp. OK, then. I'll see you at the register in 5."

"So the cabbage, leek and kelp are over there, bananas are the next aisle over.."

 _Uugghh the crab meat is all the way across the store..Well, I could.._

Glancing around, she floated the items towards her. Walking towards the fish section, she brought the last of her items towards her. "All done."

She made it to the register, with Saitama a few steps behind. "Nice work, Tamaki."

"Thanks for going with me, even though it was last minute," Saitama said, rummaging through his bag. "Here." He pulled out a small bag of apple gummies. Tatsumaki in a brief moment of shock, glanced up at him and smiled.

"Really? Thank you so much."

She grabbed the bag out of his hand, smiling wider." Let's walk back." Tatsumaki said. _The meeting is probably still going on_ , _might as well get more information on this baldy on the way back._

" Saitama, how did you acquire your powers?"

Saitama looked at her, a bit surprised by her question.

"Well, you see I stuck to this intense training regimen .." he said, placing his finger under his chin.

"Wow, really?" Tatsumaki replied, chewing on her gummies.

 _I wonder what kind of training regimen he did. ._

"One hundred push-ups, one hundred sit ups,one hundred squats and a 10 kilometer run. I did it every day. For 3 years."

"That is quite the regimen, Saitama."

"Do you plan on becoming a hero?" Saitama asked.

"No, I was just wondering.."She replied.

" _I already am a hero._ " She thought, smirking slightly.

The two continued walking in silence, with Tatsumaki organizing her thoughts.

 _So I know why he's powerful but I need his weaknesses!_

 _It's too soon to ask anything about that!_

 _Wait.._

"Saitama, do you have any companions?"

Saitama averted his eyes, and scratched his cheek.

"Well, sort of." He shrugged.

"Genos is my student, and King and I hang out sometimes."

"Genos? Isn't he an S-Class?" She asked.

"Yep. I don't think it matters,though."

"Oh, I see." Tatsumaki stated awkwardly.

"Mumen and I hang out too. That's basically it."

 _Strange bunch._

"Do you have friends, Tamaki?"

 _I think they're a waste of time._

"Not really, don't know anyone besides you in City Z."

"Oh."

The two made it back to the City's River.

Saitama thanked Tatsumaki once again for helping and was on his way to go home.

"Hey, Saitama?" Tatsumaki mumbled.

"Hmm?" Saitama turned around.

"Can we hang out again? Not just for errands, but in general?"

She glanced up at him, a shy smile on her face.

Saitama glanced away for a second, then shrugged.

"Sure, I guess."

"It's because, well , I just want to have a friend here in City Z, you know?" Tatsumaki was fumbling slightly with her words.

Saitama chuckled slightly. "It's OK, I understand."He started walking away.

"So, see you next week?" She asked.

" Text me whenever." He waved.

"Ok, I will!" She waved back, grinning widely.

When she no longer saw him, she floated back to her abode.

Tatsumaki got back home and floated onto her bed, lifting her planner towards her.

"Become Saitama's 'friend', check! This is too easy! " She chuckled to herself, her wig drooping on her face. Grumbling, she took it off.

"Ah, that's better. Now, when next week?"

Saitama entered his apartment and placed his groceries in the kitchen.

"Saitama Sensei , welcome back!" Genos said, walking out of the bathroom.

"Hey Genos, when did the meeting end?" Saitama asked, while heading to the kitchen.

"About an hour ago. I recently finished cleaning the bathroom." He replied.

"Was the civilian able to help in your endeavor?" He asked.

"Yep. She was pretty quick, although it was only a little over ten items."

Saitama said, preparing their lunch.

"She said she wanted to hang out again."

"Hmm. Saitama, I would like to meet this girl. It's been awhile since a citizen appreciated you." Genos said, walking towards the kitchen to help Saitama.

"Sure, when we hang out again I can bring-" "We can invite her to dinner here."

"Oh." Saitama stared at him blankly. "Well, ok then. Guess I'll call her."

"Saitama, good to see you! Hmm, sounds a bit too desperate. Hey,Saitama! Urg, too high pitched! How's it going? A bit better, but lower the pitch!"

Beep beep.

Tatsumaki walked over to her phone, picking it up.

"What is it?"

"Hey, Tamaki."

Adjusting herself, she replied, "Oh, hey Saitama."

"Do you wanna come over for dinner?"

"C-come again?" she asked

"Genos wants to meet you."

"Well, sure." she replied in a jovial tone.

"We'll see you next Friday." Saitama said.

"Ok! See you then." She said, hanging up.

"Well, the next meet up was closer than I thought." Tatsumaki mumbled.

She paused.

"I have to get past that toaster!"


	3. Dinner at Saitama's

**Author's Note:**

 **Hey, third chapter is here after 3 months! Maybe I should do that with all updates! I kid, I kid.**

 **Anyways, I don't know if it was still showing for y'all, but when I went on FN, it said the story was updated, even though I took this chapter down for editing spelling errors. Welp. By the way, I wanna thank y'all so much for the reviews, follows and favorites (w) ! It makes my heart swell with joy!**

 **By the way, as appreciation, the next chapter should be around the 25th of June! :D Hope y'all like it!**

* * *

It was 8 hours before Tatsumaki had to go to Saitama's apartment for dinner. She was at an S-Class meeting, Genos sitting across from her. Tapping her fingers on the table, she thought to the previous circumstances that could ruin her plan; Genos' sensing abilities. "I'd crush that robot, there's no way he could do anything to me if he found out. Still, meeting at that baldy's apartment for dinner after a week is a bit too fast. " Tatsumaki pondered. "Odd, she seems to have increasing levels of stress." Genos noted to himself. After what seemed like hours, the heroes were dismissed. Tatsumaki headed over to her apartment with paperwork.

* * *

After being cooped up in her apartment, she looked at the clock.

It read 5:00 pm.

"Why does the stupid association saddle me with so much paperwork?I beat up monsters, isn't that enough?"

"Too late to cancel now, might as well figure out what I'm wearing." grumbled Tatsumaki as she looked at herself in the mirror. Her green hair was disheveled and her eyes had bags. She frowned. "If anything, I have to look less dead inside" She levitated the brown wig towards her and put it on. She stroked the wig, slightly amused. She admitted that it was pretty nice to have her hair under control, even if it was fake. Her amusement was interrupted by her cell phone buzzing. She trudged over to her nightstand, flipping her phone open. Saitama had texted.

"Hey T, did I ever send the address?" She rolled her eyes. "No, send it please." she texted.

"Ok, see you at 7." Tatsumaki placed her phone back on the nightstand. She glanced at the time on her phone. 6:25 pm. "Crap crap crap!I'm going to be late!"Panicking, she rapidly pulled on gray tights, and grabbed the brown skirt that was on her bed. She pulled a yellow sweater over her head and opened her window. Glancing around, she headed off to Saitama's apartment.

* * *

"Hey Genos, can you check if the hot pot is almost done?" "Yes, Saitama Sensei. It should be finished momentarily."

"Good. I'm almost done with setting the table." Genos glanced up at Saitama. "Don't mind me,Sensei, but shouldn't you dress up a bit more?" "This plain T-shirt and dark slacks are just fine." Saitama said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Of course." Genos replied halfheartedly, adjusting his shirt collar. He suddenly looked very concerned and baffled. "Saitama Sensei, my sensors state that Tatsumaki is nearby." Saitama shrugged and mumbled" She's probably just on patrol," before heading off to the kitchen to wash his hands. Genos sensors continued going off. "Tatsumaki is nearing the apartment", he stated "We're in the dead part of the city."

"Sensei, is she-DING" Saitama walked out of the kitchen . "Looks like Tamaki is here, did you say something?" Saitama asked, walking over to the door. Genos sighed. "Never mind."

"Hey Tamaki, come on in" Saitama greeted. "Gladly." Tatsumaki said, taking off her boots.

She fumbled with her sleeve, walking towards Genos, Saitama following behind.

"Hi, I'm Tamaki nice to meet you." Tatsumaki said awkwardly in a falsetto.

"..Hello." Genos stated boredly. Saitama, not reading the mood, exclaimed " Let's eat! It's hot pot tonight!" Genos nodded with now glazed over eyes.

* * *

"This hot pot is delicious!I didn't know you could cook so well bald-Saitama." Tatsumaki exclaimed, continuing to gleefully chomp on the crab meat. "Thanks, although Genos helped out a bit."Saitama replied. Genos ate in silence, with the occasional slurp to be heard from him.

"Hey Genos, you alright? You haven't talked for over 20 minutes." Saitama asked, looking concerned. "..I'm fine, Sensei." Genos blandly stated. Saitama made eye contact with Tamaki and glanced back at Genos. "Well," Saitama exclaimed, hitting his knees,"That was good.I'm going to wash , keep Tamaki company." He walked off towards the bathroom.

"Yes, Sensei." Genos unenthusiastically stated. After hearing Saitama close the door, Genos leaned towards Tamaki, frowning.

"May I ask why you are here, Tatsumaki?"

* * *

In a majority of her life,Tatsumaki had never really panicked.

Right now was not going to be one of those times.

"I ask again, Tatsumaki. Why are you here?" Genos coldly asked.

"Why do you keep insisting I'm Tatsumaki, Genos?" Tatsumaki asked , maintaining 'Tamaki's' falsetto. Genos raised his eyebrows. "I keep data on almost everyone, especially Saitama, and my sensors are reading that I have analyzed you the readings are the same as Tatsumaki's." Genos continued to scowl. Tatsumaki , on the other hand, maintained a look of surprise, then smiled. "I believe you have the wrong girl Genos. I don't have any superpowers, especially not psychic ones. I did cosplay as Tatsumaki once , that's as close as I'll get. Besides, from what I've seen of her, she is not one to plan an attack." Tatsumaki stated ,chuckling slightly. Genos blinked rapidly, then shook his head. "Could it be my sensors were wrong for once? And you do make a point, Tatsumaki never really plans.. Clearly a disguise would seem beneath her.." Genos pondered. He turned to her and bowed. "Very well. I am sorry for my behavior, Miss Tamaki. You do seem respectable, especially considering you are of but of few people who respect Saitama Sensei." Tatsumaki nodded politely. "It's fine Genos."

 _I can't believe he bought it! I can definitely keep this up!_

"Hey Genos, hey Tamaki. Hope it wasn't weird" Saitama said, as he took a seat back at the table. "It was just fine, Saitama." Tatsumaki said. "Hey, since the food is done, do you wanna do something else?" Saitama asked, looking at Tatsumaki. " Sure, what do you have planned?"

* * *

"..How do you even hold this thing?" Tatsumaki asked , fidgeting with her controller.

"Here, I'll help. "Saitama said, guiding her hand to the correct buttons.

"Thanks, now I have an even bigger chance of crushing you." she smirked.

Saitama looked at her in false shock. "Oh, really? You're on!"

Genos was chuckling to himself as he practiced with his controller.

"Alright, now that you got the hang of it, you can pick the first stage." Saitama said.

"Volcano Island it is." Tatsumaki giggled deviously.

"Are you sure? You just started." Genos stated, tilting his head.

"If she wants to get crushed, let her be." Saitama teased.

"READY,SET ,FIGHT!"the announcer blared.

FWOOM

"Player 2 is out!" the announcer shouted.

"Aw, come on! I didn't even get to try a combo!" Tatsumaki said, crossing her arms and pouting.

"Don't worry, you still have another life left." Saitama said, motioning towards the screen as her character descended back.

"Oh yeah. My bad." Tatsumaki mumbled, picking up her controller.

The three continued the battle, Tatsumaki managing to cause damage to Saitama and Genos.

"5! 4! 3! 2! 1!" the announcer exclaimed excitedly.

"And the winner is.. Roaring Thunder!" "Hey T, you got second !" Saitama exclaimed, patting her shoulder. Tatsumaki grinned. "Rematch!" she yelled.

"Okay!" Saitama exclaimed, grinning.

* * *

"It's almost 10:30." Tatsumaki said with disappointment.

"Do you know your way from here?" Saitama asked.

She nodded. "Okay then, till next time." Saitama said, walking her towards the door.

She smiled as she walked out, waving as she closed the door.

It turned into a frown within a minute.

"3 hours and nothing! I even almost got caught!" She exclaimed, face palming.

Saitama stretched and stifled a yawn. "It was pretty nice tonight, even if it was unexpected."

Genos grunted in response as he was putting away the hot pot set up. "Sensei,I have to visit Dr. Kuseno tomorrow. My sensors are off." Genos stated. "In fact," Genos stifled a chuckle,"They read that Tamaki was Tatsumaki." "Like that midget would go out of her way to come after you ." Saitama teased. He stretched again,scratching his back as well. "Well, I'm going to sleep."

"Alright. Goodnight, Sensei."

Tatsumaki settled into her bed, burying her face into her pillow.

 _I hate to admit, even though I didn't get information on him.._

 _I had fun._


	4. Friendship Blossoms, Motive is Forgotten

**Author's Note: Here's the next chapter as promised!**

 **Hiya! I haven't responded to reviews, so here they are**

 **Chapter 3 Reviews:**

 **hikigaya: Yeah, the differences in POV are something I need to make more consistent. Hopefully Chapter 5 will have that fixed :D.**

 **Corporeal Pine: Nah, hearing Genos questioning Tatsumaki ain't peculiar, I actually heard his voice too :0**

 **Elfetrange: Its a pleasure to be back even for a bit :). And here it is!**

 **Next update might be around August, since I'm going on a family vacation in July.**

 **Hope y'all enjoy.**

 **Edit: I fixed errors, should be better. 1**

 **Thanks to Elfetrange for pointing them out u.**

* * *

Tatsumaki was anxiously looking at her phone. _It's okay to text him about last night ,right? After all, Tamaki isn't me, so it whatever I text won't affect me…_ She sighed, and started typing. "I had fun," the text said. Seconds later, there was a reply. "Me 2." A grin crept up on her face.

"So, can we go out next week?" she texted rapidly. Two minutes passed without a reply, and Tatsumaki got nervous. Her phone buzzed. Quickly flipping it open, there was a one word reply. "Sure."

* * *

For the next few weeks, the two would hang out once a week, and Tatsumaki was determined to gain at least one more piece of information on Saitama's strength each outing.

"When did you notice your strength's improvement?"

"Around a year and a half into training. I went bald."

"How well do you recover?"

"I haven't had critical injuries in years."

* * *

On one outing, around a month and a half after first starting as Tamaki, the two were at an ice cream parlor. It started as a routine meet up in the eyes of Tatsumaki: being together in public to discuss mundane things with the occasional sprinkle of interesting topics. The two were talking about the lack of monster attacks that had been going on for about a week and a half at that point.

"It's rather strange , don't you think?" Tatsumaki asked , taking a spoonful of her ice cream. Saitama shrugged. "At least it's peaceful." _I used to look forward to a busy day of fighting.._ Tatsumaki thought, looking up at Saitama. _Why is she staring at me?_ Saitama's thought echoed in her mind. Tatsumaki glanced away from him, smiling slightly, turning back to look at Saitama. _I haven't really relaxed in a while._ "Hey Saitama-oh no." Her ice cream cup was slipping from her hand. _Crap! I can't use my powers as Tamaki! That ice cream was delicious too!_ An object suddenly plopped into her hand. Tatsumaki glanced at the cup and back at Saitama. Besides melting a bit, the ice cream was completely fine. Saitama was blank-faced, not even acknowledging what had happened. "Gosh, thank you." Tatsumaki said, grinning. "So, what was it you were going to say?" Saitama asked. "Let's go to the park for a picnic. Its supposed to pretty nice tomorrow." Tatsumaki said, bracing for his answer. "Sure. I'll bring Genos." Saitama replied.

"Uh, sure. I'll text you later for more information." Tatsumaki said, adjusting her wig. "Until then, bye!" Tatsumaki waved, as she walked away from the parlor.

* * *

Arriving at her apartment, she placed her wig in her closet and collapsed on her bed. She sighed. "Well, that went well." Levitating a notepad and tea forwards her, she contently lay in her bed, satisfied with her outing. On her notepad were pieces of information that she obtained about Saitama. Grabbing a pen from her nightstand, she prepared to write down more. She paused, then groaned. "I didn't get anything today, did I?" Grumbling, she stashed the notepad in her night stand. Grabbing her phone from her pocket, she texted began texting Saitama, frustration about her slip up dissipating. "So, about the picnic.."

* * *

"Hey Tam, come on in. Genos will meet us at the park." Saitama said, ushering her inside. "You said you didn't have an apron , so you can borrow mine." He tossed his apron to her. Tatsumaki gripped it in her hands, reading what it said on the front. "Cook packs a punch!", she read, snickering. She put it on and followed Saitama to the kitchen. "Alright," she said , rubbing her palms together, "do you have the ingredients?" "Yep." Saitama replied, grabbing the needed items from the fridge. They had decided to make onigiri filled with octopus alongside fried veggie dumplings and a chocolate cake for dessert; Saitama making the former and Tatsumaki the latter. They went to work on the food, Saitama's going along with minimal distractions. Tatsumaki ,on the other hand, was staring at the egg in her hand. _I should've just bought a cake._ She sighed. _But this feels..oddly nice.._

Glancing at Saitama shaping the rice, she finished making the batter.

"All done! Ready to pa-Tamaki? You okay? Saitama asked, walking towards her.

"It's not right." Tatsumaki pouted. Saitama looked over the cake , not finding the issue with it. "It looks great, Tam. Nice job." Saitama said, patting her head. Tatsumaki glanced up at him ,continuing to pout. "No, it's not." she said, grabbing icing from behind her. "It needs icing." She handed a piping bag to him, smiling.

She set the cake down and walked over to Saitama's food to begin packing, Saitama wordlessly decorating the cake.

* * *

"Sorry I'm late, Sensei. The S-Class meeting went on longer than usual." Genos ran towards them. "Nah, it's fine. Besides , we just got here." Saitama was setting the picnic blanket down, smoothing the edges. "Hey Tam, come over!" Saitama waved. Genos glanced over at "Tamaki" who was resting under a tree. "Coming!" She was running towards the two, basket in hand. Plopping it down, she sat on the blanket as Genos did the same. "Alright, let's eat!" Saitama exclaimed, rubbing his palms together. He handed them plates and got right to eating.

* * *

Tatsumaki was eating onigiri and glanced over at Genos, who was surprisingly not quiet. "Sensei, I know you do not usually hear about the meetings, but it was very odd. Since Tatsumaki practically lives in the building, she almost always shows up. She was not present." He stated, taking a sip of lemonade. "Can't blame her, man. Most of those meetings go on for too long." Saitama stated neutrally. Tatsumaki kept staring at the two, waiting impatiently for Genos to finish talking about the meeting. She decided to focus instead on their thoughts, starting with Saitama's. _I should've made more dumplings. When is Genos going to finish about the meeting..Wait, is he trying to impress Tamaki? He keeps looking at her for a reaction.._ Tatsumaki and Saitama locked eyes as soon as she heard that thought echo in her head. She grinned awkwardly, trying not to avert her eyes. Saitama looked back at Genos, who was continuing on about a different subject. She breathed a sigh of relief, and focused on Genos' thoughts. _Sensei seems more focused on the topic of monster than the searching for a worthy opponent I suppose. Perhaps Tatsumaki could be a favorable opponent, but she would believe she was too above him. Tatsumaki, for Sensei's sake, be worthy enough._ Tatsumaki ceased her telepathic connection. _If he knows, is that why he hasn't ratted me out?_

* * *

"Saitama Sensei, I have to leave now. I will see you at the apartment. Thank you for the meal." He dashed off. Tatsumaki handed the picnic basket to Saitama , and began folding the blanket. "Saitama.." "Hmm?" "Why do you start off with your strongest attack, even if it's a Tiger level?" Saitama stared at her, then smiled sheepishly. "That's actually one of my weaker attacks." "Oh ok- wait really?!" Tatsumaki rapidly stood up, soiling the now folded blanket. "Yeah, but as long as the threat is defeated, doesn't matter what the attack is." Saitama blankly stated, bending down to pick it up. She raised an eyebrow, but decided not to say anything. "Well, I'll be going as well. Good bye, Saitama." She slowly walked away.

"At least I got information on him, even if it might be a lie." She picked up her notepad and wrote it down. Her eyelids started feeling heavy, so she decided to text him tomorrow. "That cyborg might have more on him than I do."

Saitama rested on his futon, staring at the TV. "Hey Genos, you asleep yet?"

"No." Genos walked into the living room, wearing his pajamas. "Is there something you need to talk about?" He sat down across from Saitama. "Not really, it's just a question." Saitama looked him in the eye. "Do you have another meeting tomorrow?" Flabbergasted, Genos replied. "No..?" "Ok, night then." Saitama turned off the TV and flopped down on his futon, snoring. "Good night,Sensei." Genos turned off the light. _I hope Tatsumaki will understand._

* * *

Following the two week long period of peace, monster attacks began occurring every day as usual. Tatsumaki followed her usual routine for the first two days it began. The third day broke her routine. Usually Tatsumaki would be uninterrupted while on the hunt for monsters; if a coworker saw her, they stayed out of the way. She a demon level threat announcing itself as "The Dastardly Project" and drifted towards it. However she saw a small figure standing next to it, whom she immediately recognized. "Move out of the way, baldy! This is my monster!" "I'm about to punch this monster, heard there's one in the next city."

Tatsumaki growled. "Not if I beat it first!" She raised some of the rubble that the monster had caused, and shot it towards it when "SPLAT!" She looked at Saitama , who had his fist in the air, a disappointed look on his face. "Not even a second hit." He sighed. "Well, on to the next ci- Hold it." She floated down to eye level with him. "If you want a battle, stop using the strongest attack first." "But, this is one of my weaker ones." She scoffed. "You should've just let me handle it if you were going to complain." "..Why are you talking to me?"Her surrounding green aura intensified. "Excuse me?" Saitama looked at her quizzically. "You don't really associate with me." Without either noticing, they were walking towards the next city. "Because you defeated the monster that I was going to kill, egg head."

He sighed, slumping his shoulders. "I'm going to head over to the next city. See you around, midget." Tatsumaki scowled. "Whatever, beanstalk." Turning her back towards him, her scowl deepened. _So he wasn't lying about the one hit thing, but I'm still not buying his "weaker attack"._ Sighing, she flew towards her home, her energy depleted from talking to Saitama.

As Saitama walked away from an uninteresting fight, he pulled out his phone.

"Text me when you have the time." The message said, his phone stating it was sent only a few minutes ago. "Hey T…" He started typing then paused. "Maybe tomorrow."He turned off his phone and continued home.


	5. Training and Dining

**AN: Gahh it's been 6 months since the last update. Sorry about that, senior year has been busier than expected. But, finals are over and I get to work on this fic :).**

 **And now for the reviews:**

 **ikusatsunagi:Yes indeed! Here it is ;u;**

 **francisman90: Thanks so much for reading! And don't worry, even if updates are slow, I shall continue this story :).**

 **Guest: arigatougozaimasu ;D.**

 **The wording in this chapter might change, such as "Sensei" being replaced with "Master". Texting between the two is** _ **italicized.**_ **Tamaki will be referred as such.**

 **Btw, if you guys came here for romantic moments, there is a teeny bit in the chapter. At least, as romantic as it can get nearly mid way through. (6 more chapters till this is done).**

 **EDIT: Fixed some errors and spaced out the text a bit more. Btw Elfetrange, Happy New Year to you too. I hope I can update at least once a month, or at the very least finish this fanfiction before the year is over (^o^)**

* * *

During the recession period of monster attacks, Genos and Saitama had more than enough time to train,partly because it relieved Saitama's boredom. Now that the monster attacks grew again, B-class and above were sent to patrol cities. As a lower rank S-class, Genos could choose whether or not to go on patrol. While in the hallway leading out of assignments room, he saw Tatsumaki standing there, a bored look on her face as workers were passing by her."Tatsumaki." He stated, pointing to his head. She scoffed and turned on her telepathy. _I am sure that you are aware of the patrol assignments. City Z has not been taken yet, and I declined doing any patrol for the sake of creating time for Master and our training.I suggest you take the City Z patrol assignment and see for yourself his power._ Tatsumaki shrugged and made her way towards the assignment room.

"Assignment Z." She stated, her arms crossed. The unnamed worker, not wanting to upset her, logged her into tracking system. She huffed and left the room, flipping open her phone.

 _The fight will take place at the rocky area outside of the city.-Genos._ She stepped outside of HQ and flew towards City Z.

Knowing she couldn't fully avoid her assignment, she spent 30 minutes patrolling the city, occasionally sending short messages to HQ about its state. Once they confirmed her job was done, she decided to look around before heading to the fight's location. She glanced at the stores in the area, seeing if there was any other damage unaccounted for. Her eyes landed on a familiar grocery store. She decided to take off to the rocky area, a ghost of a smile on her face.

* * *

She knew she was in the right place when the sounds of fire cannons and crushed rock filled the air. Ducking behind a large boulder, she watched the training. A swing or two by Genos, a dodge by Saitama. Arm flares aiming for Saitama, only for Saitama to be unaffected. "Ugh, did that cyborg ask me to come here to see his weak combat?" Tatsumaki thought to herself, adjusting her position behind the boulder. Her head shot up when she heard a deafening "CRACK".

Her eyes set on Saitama hunched over, his fist on the ground. He looked up, the slightly startled Tatsumaki making sure to stay out of sight. "Genos, are you alright?" Said cyborg was also hunched over, but flashed a thumbs up. "That's good. Dinner is on me." They both stood up and began to walk out of the ruins. "Hold it right there!" They turned around, both somewhat unaffected by her outburst. "What the hell was all that ruckus, baldy?!" She floated down to eye level, hands on her hips. "I was already off patrol, thanks for the additional work." "Huh?" Saitama arched an eyebrow. "Get over here, now. I have to account for any injuries caused by all this." "Okay..?" He said apprehensively, walking towards her. "Let me see your hand."

He silently raised his hand, which she immediately grabbed. Yanking his glove off, she was preparing for a lecture on damaging his hand. "..If your hand is fine, was that ruckus.." She finally looked at the ruins surrounding them. Looking at the spot where Saitama was, she noticed a large crack in the earth. "..Just be more careful,okay?" she mumbled. Saitama stared at her, unsure whether or not to say anything. "Master, should we be on our way?" Both were snapped out of their trance. "Oh, yeah . My glove?" She let go of his hand and tossed his glove to him. "Thanks. See you around." "See you at the next meeting, Tatsumaki." The three separated.

* * *

 _T:It's been quite a while since I came over, hasn't it?_

 _S:Yeah, Genos said he had fun last time. How does tomorrow sound?_

 _T: Sounds good to me_

 _S: See you at 7._

"Tam's coming over." "Alright, I'll set an alarm for 7 am.""Looks like Genos is warming up to her. That's nice." Saitama thought, glancing at the sleeping cyborg.

He sighed, laying down on the futon.

"I wonder if Tamaki is warming up, too."

* * *

"Saitama, I brought some chocolate cake!" Tamaki was at the door, holding said cake with a smile. "Great, come on in. Genos, she's here." Saitama called out, taking the chocolate cake from her hands. "Tat-Tamaki, nice to see you." Genos greeted, a small smirk on his face. "Hi, I'm going to go wash up." She replied, gritting her teeth into a grin. Saitama didn't take notice, as he was preparing the table. Genos lowered his voice to a whisper. "So, what did you really think of the training yesterday?" Tamaki scoffed. "It was alright, at least on his end," she nodded slightly at Saitama, "and you could try a bit more." "..I prefer Master's advice." Chuckling, she and Genos walked over to the small table. "Well, let's dig in."

* * *

"Hey, you wanna play video games again?" Saitama asked, drumming his fingers on the table. Tamaki nodded, standing up. "Sure, what do you have in mind?" Saitama's reply was interrupted by a knock at the door. "I'll get it Master!" Genos bolted towards the door. "Hey man. Wanna go for a round?" King was at the door, holding a large plastic bag. Tamaki arched an eyebrow, and Saitama shrugged.

She barely shifted from her spot while King shifted awkwardly in the doorway. "Sorry, didn't know that you had your girl over. I shouldn't have dropped in so suddenly." Saitama looked over to her, as if searching for an agreement. "Come on in, its cool. Here, I'll introduce you guys. Tamaki, King. King, Tamaki." Both bowed, then looked over to Saitama. "King, we actually were going to play anyways. What did you bring?"

A smug grin appeared on the, at least from Tastumaki's view, normally stoic man. "DDR, and a bunch of fighting games. We could be on teams, if you guys want." "..The fighting game; Me and Tamaki vs you and Genos." Saitama stated. Genos thumbs upped from the TV. "Ready to go, Master."

 **Another character appears.**


	6. Odd Analysis

**AN: Yay, I'm making good on my goal of one chapter a month! :D But since next month I'm going on vacation,I don't know if that will still be the case.. Also, thanks so much on for the support!**

 **Reviews:**

 **Storm-Anime-FFWriter: Find out in the next chapter of A Missing Step! (o)/)**

 **Sebastian: Thank you :D**

 **Crazypizzaguy: Thanks so much, and I hope I can continue to be back each month. ^u^**

 **Guest: Indeed it is. :3**

 **Scarletrailgun: That's what I keep telling myself everyday lol. And now its here :D!**

 **P.S The first half of this chapter is from Genos' point of view. OOCness is present too.**

* * *

Genos was disconnecting the game system with King, glancing at Tamaki and Saitama in the process. "Hell yeah, you were great Tam." Saitama pulled her closer to him slightly, giving her a noogie. Tamaki chuckled, looking up at him with something Genos had not paid much attention to.

Her eyes had softened, and her smile, while not a huge grin, was hard to miss.

The 'Saitama Smile', he had decided to call it. She suddenly frowned. "I gotta go, it's getting late and I live all the way on the other side." She stood up, and a smaller smile appeared. "Thanks for having me over, it was really fun. Bye-bye!" "See you around." "Nice meeting you." "Farewell." Waving over her shoulder, she closed the door.

"...Ok she's gone. Sooo, how'd you and your girl meet?" King asked, grinning.

"He saved her from a monster around six months back. She invited him to dinner, and here were are." He tried his best keeping it twenty words or less, so his Master didn't have to explain it to King. "Uh, Genos, that makes it sound like she is my 'girl'." Saitama used finger quotations to emphasize his point. He sighed. "But, yeah, we're friends." 'Friends' was said in a sort of hesitant tone, but neither Genos or King pushed him about it. The three sat in silence for a bit, not knowing where to carry the conversation from there. Genos could sense the lingering question that was yet to be said by King. "..but you do think she's cute?" King asked. "I guess so, yeah. But that's an obvious thing." Saitama stated, shrugging. He wondered if "cute" would still be applied if he ever found out about Tamaki. He shrugged the idea off, however, because he shuddered at the last time he retaliated against her.

"Hey, you look a little spaced out there, Genos." He perked up, and turned to look at Saitama.

"My apologies, I was going over some of my data." It wasn't actually a lie, he thought. He was comparing the information on "Tamaki" to Saitama's. They both seem to share some attributes as of late..

* * *

He looked up at the ceiling, a soft snore signaling that Master Saitama was still asleep. He had seen this sort..situation occur around him in the lives of others, but he wasn't sure whether or not it was too soon to try to confirm his own theories. "When will, or rather, would, she give him a well deserved battle?" He thought, glancing over to the sleeping figure. "Or has she lost already?" His final thought lingered as he finally shut his eyes.

Tatsumaki was getting ready for bed, a small smile still present on her face. " _You forgot the information again_." a small nagging voice told her. She ignored it, flicking off the light.

" _You're not forgetting on purpose, are you_?" the small voice said a bit louder. She stretched before pulling the covers over herself. She heard a thump on the floor, but decided to investigate in the morning instead.

A small notebook sat at the edge of her bed.

* * *

 _She was walking with him around the park in City Z. A monster, that looked remarkably like the one he "saved" her from appeared, roaring and slashing its claws into the sidewalk._

 _The debris it was creating was massive, and an almost bolder like piece was heading straight towards him. He was stunned, not at the boulder almost hitting him, but at what was surrounding it._

 _A light green glow._

 _She panicked. She had meant to shove him out of the way, tell him to run, just something else.._

" _I don't think I can hang out with you anymore, Tama- or should I say Tatsumaki?"_

" _..."_

" _Why can't I say anything?! Tell him! Say it!" Fearful thoughts rung out in her head._

" _Saitama, I- Wait!" He retreated, a look of.. Disgust?betrayal? She couldn't name the mixture of emotions on his face._

" _I knew another fan was too good to be true."_

 _She crushed the boulder. "I should've attacked you when I had the chance." She spat out bitterly._

* * *

She awoke to her disheveled reflection and silently got out of bed. Floating over to her kitchen, she boiled some tea. She decided to open up the curtains slightly. To her surprise, the moon was still out. It was then that she looked over at her clock. 4 am, it read.

"Hopefully there are some monsters later that I can let loose on." She crossed her fingers slightly at this thought.

"That damn baldy better not be there first."

* * *

Fortunately for Tatsumaki, he did not show up before her.

But she did run into him after defeating monsters.

"Oh, did you already get the monsters over here? Guess I'll keep going.." He said, scratching his cheek.

She frowned, nodding slightly,trying to avoid his eyes.. "See ya." He waved slightly, already walking away.

Motivated slightly by their mundane interaction, she went to a nearby alley, her neutral frown threatening to slip into a devious grin.

Taking out her phone, she scrolled through her rather short list of contacts and dialed him.

"Tam? Don't you usually text?" A confused voice crackled through the speakers. "Yep! But I just wanted to call you to see if we can go the park sometime this month. The weather is supposed to be really nice!" She exclaimed in her falsetto.

"Uh, sure. With or without Genos?" Her breath halted for a bit, then with a wavering voice responded, "Come again?" "Just us two or are you alright with Genos as well?" He restated his question. "Just the two of us." She couldn't help by try to hide the grin in her voice. "Ok, I'll text you when I have a day off."

Tatsumaki arrived back at her apartment in a state of triumph. "Saitama, if you want an opponent, you're just going to have to start small."

* * *

 **Extra AN: I feel like this was a bit of shorter update, but oh well. Next chapter is going to be..something, I'll tell you that. I plan at making it over 2k.**

 **I feel like I kicked King out of the story too early. ;n;**

 **I'll see y'all next time, hopefully soon 3. And thanks so much for almost 100 follows on this story! w**


	7. Closer yet Farther

**AN: If you see this note in March, I'll be closer to my goal ^0^! However if this turns out to be posted in April, it'll be sprinkled with a little bit more shippy stuff.**

 **And like the last chapter** _ **italization is for texts and/or thoughts.**_

 **Thank you all so much for the faves,follows and reviews. I really appreciate it! :D**

 **(please send more reviews. I love reading your thoughts.)**

 **Reviews:**

 **Scarletrailgun: Last chapter was a bit too short for my liking as well, but this chapter will be a little longer.**

 **Guest: Thank you so much! :D I really appreciate your support and understanding. 3**

 **Ikusatsunagi: Thanks and here's another :D.**

 **miczsfarz: Aww shucks thanks 3! I hope to do more of this story as well :).**

 **This story is a little over half way done, so that means that from this point on, the chapters should be a bit longer.**

 **Edit: 4/2/18: I fixed the errors.**

* * *

Some whispers could be heard as heroes and general workers passed each other in the HQ hallways. Excited whispers, fearful whispers, but they were all centered around one topic:

A certain S-Class was in a better mood than usual. That was all they knew, but there was some theories that floated around that were somewhat true to the actual situation.

"Maybe she got a boyfriend."

"She could have an anger outlet now."

"Like a hobby?

Luckily, Tatsumaki herself didn't know about the gossip centered around her. She was too focused on other matters to notice the strange looks she was getting.

She stood in the middle of the cliff filled ruins outside of City Z. It was the dead of night, only the moon, scattered stars and her glow providing light. A sudden "SWOOSH" was made, and an array of boulders was floating around her, all glowing the same green as she. She thrust her hand upwards, sending them all back to the ground. With both hands directly in front of her, the boulders were completely eradicated. The glow around her dimmed, as she drifted to the ground. "Alright, let's see what's next." She reached into her bag that was plopped down near a boulder. Pulling out her notebook, she skimmed through the pages, then scrunched her nose. "Crap, looks like it's in the other notebook." She shoved it back into her bag and tossed it over her shoulder. Checking her phone, she saw that it was about to be 3 am. She began the trek back home.

Later the same day, Saitama and Genos were walking in the halls of HQ. "Your meeting is how long again?" "Two hours." "Ah man, that sucks." He pulled out his phone,and began texting. "Master, who are you texting?" "Tam." Genos face stiffened for a second, before realizing what that would mean. "I believe she said last week she would be busy today." He said as convincingly as he could. "I don't remember that-" Saitama began apprehensively, before Genos cut him off, "I'm certain." "Besides, I found a sale at Super Mart in the next city over. I'll be over there when I'm done." Saitama's face lighted up from this information, then turned on his heel. "Ok then, I'll text her later. Seeya."

He waved. _Tatsumaki, if you are near, you may want to talk to him now before he leaves._ Tatsumaki floated into the room, appearing as nonchalant as she could. "Hey, baldy! What are you doing here?" Said baldy turned around, not surprised by her words, said "I was about to head out, I was dropping Genos off." She floated closer to him, dropping down to eye level. _You're talking to him, now what exactly do you want to say?_ She wasn't sure if it was her or Genos' voice in her mind.

"How would you feel about fighting me? Hypothetically speaking, of course." She harrumphed. "I don't know," He said, tapping his cheek with his pointer finger, "I would be okay with it, if that's what you're asking." He shrugged.

"Hm, fair enough." She responded quietly, gently dropping to the ground. "Er, thanks for the response." She gave him a small wave before heading to the meeting room. He responded with an equally small before heading back out of HQ.

* * *

 _T: Hey! Wanna hang out at the park today?_

 _S:Sure._

 _T:Want to have a picnic again like last time?_

 _S: Yeah, come on over to make it._

 _T: Ok, I'll be there in a bit._

There was a knock at the door about 5 minutes later. "I'll get it, Master." Genos opened the door to see Tamaki in a get up that was oddly..girly? She was very feminine in general, however she seemed to have overdone herself. A sugary pink headband with a bow at its side, an equally pink shirt and a long brown skirt made up her attire. Her hair was loose and wavy. "Someone sure is excited to see Master Saitama." He smirked. She ignored him and walked towards the kitchen, although a slight blush spread across her cheeks.

Saitama and Tamaki were walking around the park, looking for the perfect spot for their picnic. _Does this count as a date?_ She asked herself, glancing every now and then at Saitama. He caught her gaze and gave a small grin. "Still looking, huh?" 'I, um-" "I found a spot." He said, pointing to an area under a large tree. He motioned for her to follow him to it. She gently grabbed his hand.

* * *

"Hey can I ask you something?" Saitama lifted his head at her question. "What is it?"

"You mentioned to me a while ago the only people that you considered as somewhat your friends. Am I one?" She asked, flinching after she finished, waiting for his response. "Of course." He smiled at her, laying his head back down on the grass.

 _She's the only one who's not a hero..hm._ Briefly peeking at his thoughts, she then shut off her connection. _I wish I could say it was true._ She thought to herself, before turning her gaze away from him.

Their silence was interrupted by an inhuman screech that came from just outside the park.

Saitama wordlessly got up and ran towards the noise, leaving Tamaki to look after their picnic basket.

* * *

"Saitama!"

Bitterly lifting up the debris the monster caused, she swirled it around herself. "That idiot!" she thought to herself. Holding her hands out in front of her, she prepared to launch the debris. "Tamaki!" She whirled around in shock, abruptly halting her powers. The debris crashed down on her. She winced as she felt some of it on her arms and legs. "Are you alright?" Saitama asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. She slowly placed her own hand on his and brought it up to her cheek. Saitama didn't seem to mind this, as he gently rubbed his thumb across her cheek. As soon as he did, all thoughts swarming in her mind disappeared. She nuzzled into his palm, a small content smile on her face. "I'll take you back to my place to bandage them." He spoke softly, almost mumbling. She nodded, as he gently pulled away. He signaled for her to get on his back, and she obliged. Gripping on tightly, he ran off back to his apartment.

* * *

They sat down near the TV, Saitama ready with the first aid kit. _Haven't needed this in a while_. He noted to himself. She stared at him quietly, slightly miffed at her injuries. He placed some bandages on her left arm, and one on her cheek. Noticing her still less than happy demeanor, he reached for her , now tattered, headband. "Sorry about your headband, I'll ask Genos to help me fix it." He placed it on his head and continued bandaging her right arm. She gave a small chuckle at his rather silly, but successful, attempt at cheering her up. He closed the first aid kit and patted her head .leaving to put it away.

Unfortunately, that meant leaving her with her thoughts.

 _Why was I so worried? He's so strong, that bird monster would've been easily defeated by him._

 _But when he was out of my sight, I didn't know what else to think.._

 _Did he see me? Does he know? It meant something to him to have Tamaki around and I almost threw that away!_

"Hey, Saitama! Thanks for the help. Text me when the headband is ready. I gotta go." She said quickly while rushing towards the door.

Saitama blinked in confusion, but decided not to push her about her action. He took off the headband and looked at its condition. It was dirty, a piece of the bow was torn and there were some hairs on it. He pulled some of the hair off, before he was struck with a realization.

 _Fibers..I haven't touched these since the last time I used to..Is Tamaki..Wearing a wig?_

* * *

Tatsumaki was back in her apartment, her heart racing. She quickly hovered over to her bed, closing the curtains. Ducking under the covers, she tried to calm down her heart rate.

Succeeding, she touched her hand against her cheek, and her heart rate shot up again.

 _Damn it, that baldy's got me either way!_ She thought in annoyance in yet another attempt to calm down from an entirely different reason than before. Grunting in frustration she pulled the covers tighter around herself. She fell asleep, her emotions all jumbled up.

* * *

 _S:Its fixed. You can come over anytime today or this week._

Flipping her phone closed, she rolled out of bed to get ready. She opted for a loose hoodie over her pajamas. Looking over herself in the mirror, she glanced the singular bandage that was on her looked away and headed out the door.

Genos was pacing around the kitchen, thinking about Saitama's comment from the night before.

" _Hey Genos, I think Tamaki is wearing wig."_ _I don't think he's figured it out; Master may be excellent at his teachings, but he admittedly doesn't connect the thoughts about these sorts of things.._

He glanced over at Saitama in front of the TV, most likely waiting for "Tamaki".

 _I still wonder how he'll bring it up, if he even mentions it.._

She knocked once on the door, waiting for either of the two to answer. However, she felt light-headed at the prospect of seeing him again so soon.

"Hey, come on in." Saitama stood at the door."Hmm?" He closed the door again and felt his phone vibrate.

 _T: Thanks, I'll come later this week. I'm pretty busy today._

Hanging up with HQ, she pulled the covers over herself, opting to sleep the rest of the day.

* * *

 **Woo. This chapter is definitely longer than the last, but I didn't want it to drag so..next time guys. Which is technically later this month of April ;D.**

 **I hope the fluff was good, because I can't write action for crap. ~)**

 **Thanks again for the support, I'll see y'all at the end of April. 3**


	8. Alternate Identity

**AN: It's a May update!**

 **Over 100 follows? Y'all are fantastic! :D**

 **AP reviews are not as hectic as last year, but the AP exams are gonna start soon (Luckily I got out of AP Environmental Science, a sort of big reason why earlier updates were so slow), so I probably won't update till June; cause prom is after the exams too lol.**

 **That's about it for life stuff, just wanted to let y'all know that's why I've been a bit busy.**

 **Since we're about 4 chapters from the end, I'm gonna let you guys on a little secret~**

 **This story will have a semi-sequel; a two shot.**

 **Thanks so much for the reviews :)!**

 **Here are the reviews for the last chapter:**

 **Guest:Interesting story. I hope to read the next chapter soon.**

 **(Here it is! Hope you enjoy.)**

 **Maraderchik:Should Genos tell her Saitama know about the wig?**

 **(He probably should,considering it could be a dead giveaway. It'll be explored in this chapter.)**

 **Ikusatsunagi: thx for the chapter**

 **(No prob! Here's yet another :) )**

 **Elfetrange: That was really cute**

 **(Thanks! Hopefully this chapter will be even cuter :3)**

 **Guest(2):Good story. I can't wait the next chapter :D**

 **(Thank you, and here is the next chapter :D)**

 **miczsfar:I actually really enjoy this chapter. Is the bond of tatsumaki and saitama I want and a little bit spice at the end there. I wonder how saitama is going to deal with Tamaki finding who she really is.**

 **I just wish the chapter a little longer but if you prefer this way its okay too :)**

 **Great Job.**

 **(I'm glad you enjoyed it :). And as for the Saitama finding out thing, I won't say when he'll find out, but soon ;D. I do wish I could make it a bit longer at points, but this format allows me to update each month while senior year is still a thing lol.)**

 **mychakk:Nice story, definitely looking forward to more. Especially how Saitama finds out the truth and what will be his reaction. :)**

 **(I'm glad you enjoy this story. I can't wait to type the reveal myself lol ;).)**

 **With all that said and done, the chapter shall begin. (Some OOCness ahead)**

 **Edit 5-6-18: Fixed some errors.**

* * *

A week had passed since she got injured. While Saitama wasn't hounding her with calls or texts, he was still worried.

His hand hovered over the phone, debating whether or not to text her to meet up,

" He probably knows." She thought, her head buried under her pillow. She groaned in frustration, ignoring her vibrating phone.

Genos was summoned at HQ and was walking down the hall. He notices Tatsumaki floating down the same path as him, an even more sour look on her face.

"Tatsumaki." She scowled and turned back around. He sighed in frustration, opting to instead let her find out the news for herself.

After trying to slog through an almost uneventful day, she finally decided to check her phone. Slightly surprised, she opened it to find a singular message pop up on her screen.

 _S: Hey, do you wanna meet at the ice cream parlor?_

Her fingers danced over the keyboard, typing and retyping. Her heart fluttered, slowly typing a singular word.

 _T: Sure._

 _S: Ok. See you at 3 then._

She turned down the alleyway, sneaking a glance at the parlor.

He was already there, looking around to see if she was near.

Gently fixing up her wig, she walked over to where he was. He looked up from looking at an object in his hand and gave her a small wave.

"Hey. I brought your headband." He handed it over to her. "I think Genos and I fixed up pretty well." He jokingly commented. She gave it a small lookover before putting it away. "Thanks." she muttered. "Hey, um." Saitama started, oddly embarrassed, "I don't mind." He looked at her face for her reaction. To his surprise, she was blank. "Uh.."

"You mean it?" She asked shyly, fiddling with her hair.

"Yeah, To be honest, it's not really my business." He shrugged. "So, ready to eat, Tam?" "Tam? Oh, yep!" They walked inside the parlor.

Genos lurked in the nearby store, analyzing their movements before Saitama revealed his concerns.

He halted at Tatsumaki's reaction, feeling a pit in his stomach.

"I should tell her." He thought to himself, briskly moving out of the store to avoid being caught by either of them.

He thought back to Saitama's words when it came to Tamaki's 'situation'.

"But to compare the two..it doesn't make sense."

* * *

Back at home, she felt content with their get together. She brushed her hand slightly, a warm memory of it in his crossing her mind.

Digging her headband out of her purse, she placed in her dresser.

With her being in a blissful mood the day after, it made it harder for Genos to break the news to her.

"Tamaki's origins are still not found." He repeated in his mind the entirety of the day, in hopes that it would somehow get to her mind.

The first time he passed by her, there was no response.

The second time, he thought he saw a flash of something other than happiness.

The third time he got through to her, a look of relief was present on her face.

However, he didn't know why she slowly began to frown.

She didn't know either.

She headed to the lobby to leave as soon as the day was over.

The murmuring about her died down as soon as her colleagues saw the ever so familiar frown on her face.

* * *

Trying to distract herself from her odd state, she decided to dig through her drawers to see if she needed to toss anything out.

Aside from some candy wrappers, she didn't really find anything else.

Looking around the rest of her apartment and seeing that nothing else needed organizing, she decided to go bed early.

In the dead of night. her phone vibrated on her nightstand.

Groaning about her sleep being interrupted, she picked it up and was greeted by a picture message.

The two people in the picture weren't facing the camera, but were facing each other.

The taller person was slightly hunched over, gently grasping the smaller person's hand.

The smaller person appeared to be in the middle of a what appeared to have been an amusing sentence, seeing as how the tall person was laughing.

Rubbing her eyes in an attempt to clear their blurriness, she picked her phone back up to look at the picture again.

"Sai..and me? Well, sort of.. Who sent this?" She scrolled to see if there was a caption along with the picture. A simple capital "G" was present.

Feeling her warm face , she closed her phone. After a moment, she flipped it open again, rapidly pressing keys, a small chuckle escaping from her.

"Thanks, 'G'." She muttered in amusement.

She looked at her new lock screen for another moment and closed her phone to go back to sleep. However, the 'odd feeling', as she called it, came back.

"...I wish we could interact like that.."

She paused, a small idea popping into her mind.

"Maybe we can."

* * *

Waking up at 6 in the morning, she put a bit more care into her appearance.

She decided to go for an alternative outfit; a mid length black dress without slits.

Looking over herself in the mirror, she nodded at her reflection in satisfaction and walked out the door.

Deciding that she should enact her plan as soon as she saw him, she smoothed out her hair, waiting for him to show up.

The clock showed that it was 3 pm. Her hopes of seeing him diminished until she heard him speak.

"So what do you wanna do now?" He asked Genos, who glanced knowingly in her direction. She let out a squeak, quickly covering her mouth.

"Hm?" Saitama paused briefly before continuing on with his and Genos' conversation.

She twiddled her thumbs, deciding to take a small peek into Saitama's mind while she waited.

" _Wonder what that was. Sort of reminds me of the cute squeaks Tam makes when she's really chipper about something.."_ "Cute?" Despite a tiny part of herself saying otherwise, Tamaki being called cute also applied to her. "Augh, focus, focus." She berated herself. Digging a small sticky note out of her pocket, she moved out of the shadows. "Hey, I found this on the floor, had your name on it. " Handing it over as casually as she could, both men looked confused at her actions.

"Thanks." Saitama took it from her hands looking at the writing on it. She nodded and walked away.

All that was present on it was a greeting followed by his name.

"Weird. No name." He said, putting away in his pocket.

"Writing on a sticky note counts as something, right?" She thought shyly to herself.

She continued with this strategy the rest of the week, only adding to the greeting from before.

By the end of the week her attitude as she was giving it to him almost gave her away as the sender.

Saitama kept all of the sticky notes, putting together the tiny message they had.

 _Hello Saitama. I think that we should get together outside of work in order to improve relations if we have to fight a monster; lead by example.-T_

Genos walked by his small display on the coffee table. "She could've just said it directly." Saitama commented. Genos nodded, "Agreed."

Genos bombarded him for the next hour with tips on how to approach her until Saitama grew tired of his ramblings.

"Man, it's not like I'm asking her out."

"I am certain she'd like that to be the case." Genos thought to himself.

* * *

"I don't even know if he got it through his thick skull. I gave him a bit too much credit in that department." Tatsumaki smoothed out her skirt, trying to relax for the inevitable.

She felt a tap on her shoulder, and turned around. Saitama was towering over her.

"So, wanna play video-games at my place this Saturday?"

" I suppose." Her arms were twitching at her resistance to cross them.

"Ok, just text me when." He waved before walking off.

Tatsumaki waited till he was out of sight.

"Success!"

* * *

 **Sorry this was a bit of a short update.**

 **Genos was really OOC in this chapter tbh.**

 **Guess that's all for the end AN, see you guys next chapter in June! :D**


	9. Weekly Assignment

**AN: Wow! Thanks again for the follows, faves and reviews!**

 **Its a June update!**

 **Short real life updates: I graduated earlier this month! Now I'm off to college in August, but I will most likely finish this story before then so you guys don't have to worry about any long hiatuses..again.**

 **Random behind the scenes fact: Genos was originally not supposed to know about Tamaki until after the fact in earlier drafts.**

 **That's about it for personal stuff, now onto the reviews.**

 **mychakk: Here it is! Hope you enjoy!**

 **Guest: That feel when she's envious of (technically) herself.**

 **Guest(2):No prob man.**

 **Hektols: That feel when this is a great idea but last year's me established that the Saitama vs. Fubuki didn't happen ;u;**

 **Guest (3):** **Of course! We've only got 4 more till the end!**

 **Lol:** **Here ya go :D**

 **Lord Anubis Judge of the dead: I'm glad you are :).**

* * *

"Oh, hey Tatsumaki. Come on in." Saitama stood at the doorway, leaning against the door. She walked inside, looking around. She was wearing a yellow short sleeve with a light blue skirt, meanwhile he was wearing a dark blue hoodie and gray shorts. "I told her to dress casual, didn't I?" He thought to himself as she stood still in the hallway.

Her eyes briefly met his, a small smile appearing on her face as she looked away. "Genos will be here in about 20 minutes with food." He stated, getting them drinks from the kitchen. She continued being rigid, even as he put her glass on the table. "So, do you wanna play video games while we wait? You have played video games before, right?"

He playfully arched an eyebrow at her. "Of course I have-" Tatsumaki thought back to her first visit. Her not knowing how the control worked ended up with his hands over hers. " haven't." She crossed her arms and huffed.

He went to set up the system, motioning for Tatsumaki to join him.

She walked and silently sat down next to him, a light blush on her cheeks.

Grabbing her controller eagerly, she waited for Saitama's instruction.

He held up his controller, facing it towards her. "So, to attack, you use these," he pointed at the buttons, "and you move your character with this." He pointed at the joystick. He put the controller back on his lap.

She internally groaned at his actions, but smirked.

"I'm gonna kick your ass."

Positioning herself, she continued to grin deviously as the first round started on screen.

"Master! I brought supper."

"Thanks for killing the mood, cyborg." She mumbled.

Genos began setting up the table, Saitama pausing the game.

"Ready to eat, Tatsumaki?" "Sure."

* * *

"So, what's the deal?" Saitama asked.

"Huh?"

"What he means is the reason for your visit, the 'improving relations'?"

"Oh." She pondered about her answer and replied, "The association figured that since I'm one of the most beloved heroes and you're the most hated, us being paired up would help your image, as well as take down higher level monsters faster."

"I see."

Genos raised an eyebrow , but did not say anything else.

"So, is it a long term thing?" Saitama asked, messing with his hoodie string.

"Only if you want it to be." She said.

He shrugged. "Sure. You did once mention to me that you wanted to fight, so we could look at each others fighting styles."

"You remembered that?" He nodded.

The three then ate their food in comfortable silence.

"So, I'll see you next week?" Tatsumaki asked, already out of the apartment.

"Sure?" He shrugged, waving at her before closing the door.

"So much for romance." She sighed before heading off to her apartment.

"Master, are you alright?" Genos inquired, for the bewildered look present on Saitama's face.

"Yeah, but I don't know man. I feel like I've done most of this before."

* * *

"The 'date' wasn't bad," She thought to herself. "But what can I expect, when we're practically acquaintances?" She looked at her phone wallpaper, a small smile flickering across her face.

"At least Tamaki and him are friends."

There was a knock at Saitama's door the next morning. "Tam? It's a little early, but come on in-" "Get dressed, I'm taking you to the park." He rubbed his tired eyes, seeing bright green hair. "Tatsumaki? Didn't you say next week?" "Yesterday was Saturday, today is Sunday. It is next week." Saitama squinted his eyes at her explanation, but sighed. "I'll get dressed."

The two headed to the park, as the sun was barely rising over the horizon. "So, why are we out at," He checked his phone, "7:30?" "Harsh to say, but we can't be fully seen together just yet. One step at a time to improve your reputation." "But-"She halted him with her hand. "Yes, I know Mister 'I became a hero for fun',but those are orders." "When did I tell you-never mind."

She halted their walking as they arrived at a shady area in the park. She motioned for him to alongside her. "To improve your reputation among citizens, you must befriend one."

"I do have a friend. Her name is Tamaki. She perked up a bit at his mention. "She's fun, kind, we make each other laugh, we manage to make time for each oth-" She waved her hands in front of him. "Yeah, yeah, I get it." Avoiding his eyes, her face was tinted a light pink. "Sheesh, what do you like her?"

Saitama blinked. '"A little. So, what do we have to do now?" Tatsumaki groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Now, we have to um.." She paused, trying to remember the "orders" HQ gave her.

"We just have to get to know each other's fighting styles first, I suppose."

"Okay, but uh..We might have to go to the ruins if we wanna practice." "Oh, right. Okay, lead the way." She said as she got off of the grass, Saitama following in suit. He started walking ahead of her, motioning for her to follow.

They stood at the ruins, Saitama waiting for instruction.

"Just use your weakest attack on what's left of the cliff over there and I'll compare the damage for that and my own weaker attack." Saitama nodded and proceeded to use his standard punch on the cliff.

Simultaneously, she used a light attack on an area farther away from him.

She took pictures of the two areas with her cell and rubbed her palms together.

"Okay, now we should try the attacks on each other." Saitama was in mild shock at her statement. "Oh,never mind, you're joking." He said, chuckling lightly.

"Yes, since admittedly you pack quite a punch. Guess we're done for today, unless you want to eat some breakfast."

"Sure."

"This is weekly, right?"

"Yes, why?"

"Just wondering."

Tatsumaki picked at her pancakes, theorizing about another possible reason.

"Genos texted me. He said there's a sale at 10. And its 9:30 now."

He stood up from the table, just as Tatsumaki finished paying their food.

"Thanks for breakfast. See you soon."

He waved as he walked out of the restaurant.

She walked out soon after and flew back to her home.

"Today was better.."

"So, how was it?" " Weird. She didn't call me baldy."

" 'A little', huh? Guess I know what we're doing next week." She quickly dialed Genos.

"Tatsumaki, why are y-" "Just put me on speaker." Genos turned off his hearing. "Hey baldy! Mark the day! We're going on a date!" She hung up before either of the men could give her a response.

"..Maybe I should call back to say it was a joke." She checked the time on her phone. "I can do it tomorrow." She tossed it on her nightstand and shut off the light.

* * *

"Who was that on the phone?" Saitama asked, sitting in front of the TV.

"A fangirl."

* * *

 _T: Hey Sai! I'm going to be out of town for the next two weeks. Hopefully we can hang out when we come back._

 _S: Sounds good, have fun._

* * *

 **Double length next time!**


	10. Making A Move

**Guest : (Dang that's depressing to read, but it's so true ;u;)**

 **Hektols: (Indeed.)**

 **mychakk : (I'm looking forward to writing more of confused Saitama..or is he? ;D And thanks! )**

 **Guest(2?): (I squealed so much after reading this review! x3 But the next chapter is here!)**

 **Lol: (Update is here! Hopefully next will be earlier lol. )**

* * *

"Saitama! Open up!" Genos opened the door a crack. "He didn't know you called yesterday, so I suggest you tell him." He opened the door and let her in, pointing to Saitama watching TV.

She sighed with relief, slowly walking over to him.

"Hey Saitama." She tapped his shoulder. "Hm?" He turned around to face her, muting the TV. "We're going on a date, this Saturday." "..why?" She was taken aback by his response, but continued. "Tami or whatever. You know? Mess up with me so you don't mess up with her." She tapped her foot, waiting for his response.

"O-kay?" He cautiously said, before unmuting the TV.

"Wear something nice! I'll handle the rest!" She called over her shoulder as she walked back out of the apartment.

* * *

"So, she called yesterday for the same thing?" "Yes, I believe it came out of pressure to spend more time with you from HQ. "Oh,that sucks."

Saitama had put on a light blue long sleeve along with black slacks.

"Is this nice enough?" Saitama asked Genos as he looked himself over.

"Indeed. You look great Master." He gave a thumbs up. They both heard a knock at the door. "Guess that's her."

He opened the door to see Tatsumaki in a pink dress. "You look nice. So, where do we go?" Her eyes looked over his appearance, Saitama confused as to why she was taking longer than expected.

"You dress up pretty well yourself. And we're going to the park." He noticed the small picnic basket besides her. She maintained a mildly professional look, although she was giddy about the situation at hand. Reaching for the picnic basket, he closed the door. "If you don't hold her hand, how is she supposed to know you're interested?" She stated slyly.

Saitama mildly rolled his eyes, but touched the tips of his fingers to hers.

"Close enough." She mumbled, as the two continued towards the park.

* * *

She set the picnic basket down as she motioned for him to sit down.

"So, how long have you known this girl?" She asked. He pondered for a bit then replied "Almost a little over a year now."

"How long have you liked her?" She teased, giggling to herself. "About a- hey can't I ask questions?" He pouted, prompting her to giggle more.

"What kind of questions would you ask me?" She looked down, avoiding his gaze.

"Hypothetical questions for Tamaki. Just tell me, I guess, what not to ask."

"Oh." There was a slight frown. "Well, ask away."

* * *

"I..kinda want to ask her if I could see without her wig on." Saitama spoke softly.

Tatsumaki snorted. "HA! So she's a baldy like you?" He frowned a bit at her statement. "So, then..?" "Don't ask that. At all."

"Yeah, I figured as much." He avoided eye contact with her, setting his arms on his lap.

"So, why are you doing this?" He asked, looking more serious than she was used to.

"I thought these questions were for Tamaki." She mumbled. "But, it's because you seem to like her more than you lead on." She blushed, a shy smile on her face. "Next question." She scowled.

* * *

"Can I tell her she's cute?"

"Of course. Duh."

"So, when are you going to make a move?"

"I'm just gonna wing it."

"Oh, really?" A bright green aura flared around her.

"Listen. It had better be romantic." She huffed.

"Got it."

* * *

""Do you have a picture of her?"

Saitama flinched at her question. "Yeah, but I had to take it while she wasn't looking."

He pulled out his phone, scrolling through his images until he found it.

It was during their first picnic. She was under a tree waiting for Genos to arrive, a faraway look in her eyes. He turned his phone towards her.

"You're right, she's cute." She smirked. "My picture is definitely better." she thought.

She returned his phone to him, flipping it closed, until Saitama pushed his phone back towards her.

"Genos told me that you called him yesterday. You can just text me, if you want." Caught on the spot she fumbled with his phone, not wanting to reject his offer.

"Maybe another time." She said softly, handing his phone back to him.

"Its cool." He chuckled softly, putting his phone back in his pocket.

* * *

"Oh. Guess I better head home now." He said, pointing to the night sky.

"I see. You need more practice, so we're doing this next week." She stepped off of the blanket, and began rolling it up.

"You know," He crouched down to her eye level, "your eyes are green like hers."

"See you next week." He patted her head, then turned around to walk out of the park.

* * *

 _T: Hey Sai! I'm going to be back in town in a few days!_

 _S: That's great_

 _S: We should do something together when you get back._

 _T: Yes! I'll see you at your place then?_

 _S:yep._

* * *

She excitedly flew over to Saitama's apartment as soon as her "vacation" ended.

"Hey Sai!" She knocked on the door. "Wait a sec, please." Came a muffled reply. "Looks like those practice dates paid off." She thought, giggling quietly to herself. Her vision was blocked by a lock of her real hair. "Ok Im out." Quickly adjusting her wig and hiding her green hair, she looked up to see if he had noticed. Thankfully he seemed focused on his cellphone. He noticed her looking at him and flashed a small smile. "Genos just wanted to make sure we were doing alright." He put it away in his back pocket.

"Come on in."

* * *

He had set up some drinks on the table, and sat down, motioning for her to sit next to him. "So, how was your trip?" He asked. "It was fine, I got to explore a different city. Although to be honest, I couldn't wait to see you again." She gently stroked his hand. He put down his glass and put his other hand over hers."Hey Tamaki…" He moved closer.

"Yes?" She asked, leaning in. "My hands aren't too cold, are they?" He muttered. She grabbed his hand, moving it up to her cheek".No, they're just right." They closed the gap between them.

Caught in their moment, she began floating. Saitama, noticing that his hand moved upwards, opened his eyes. Pulling gently away from her, his arms out ready to catch her. "Hey Tamaki?" She opened her eyes and yelped, cutting off her powers and falling into his arms. They silently stared at each other, until Saitama started chuckling. "Nothing was said about needing to catch you." She hid her flustered face in his arm. He sighed, then kissed her forehead. "But you looked really cute." She lifted her head, greeted by a small smile.

He gently stroked her hair as she nuzzled her face into his chest, sighing contently.

"This is nice and all, but I'm kind of hungry." "Hungry for more?" She giggled flirtatiously.

"I mean, I guess," He shrugged. "I haven't eaten since 10." "We should eat then." She smiled, resisting the urge to correct him.

* * *

The two were standing outside of his apartment., reminiscing about their date. "I had fun." "Me too." "I didn't know you could be so bold." She grinned, putting her hand against her cheek, feeling the warmth underneath it. . "Well, she said I had to make a move sometime." She looked up to face him. "Who's 'she'?" She asked in false curiosity.

"A good friend." A gentle smile spread across his face. "I see." She was mildly confused at her own softer tone. "Hey. Sai?" "Yeah?" She chuckled nervously. "Never mind. It sounds so weird." "You can tell me." She met his interested gaze.

"Well. I kind of wanted to ask if I could..have a picture of us together. "Sure." He pulled out his phone, moving closer to her. "So, how do you want me to-" "Just a normal picture." She leaned against his shoulder, grinning at the camera. He ruffled her hair as he snapped the picture. Her phone dinged. "Aww, thanks Sai! It looks so cute!" She quickly hugged him before checking the time. "I should go, it's late." She jumped up, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. "Text you later!" She waved, running off.

* * *

"Hey Genos, could you put Tats on the phone?" Genos looked up from washing dishes. "Tats?" "Tatsumaki." He blinked. "Alright then, a moment please." He reached for his phone, quickly dialing her number. "I'm in the middle of something, cyborg." "Hey Tats."

"Saitama?" "I just called to say thanks." "It was nothing, baldy." "I hope you get to meet my girlfriend sometime. She's a big fan." He heard a muffled reply. "What was that?" He raised the volume slightly.

"I said maybe. Good night." "Good night."

He pressed 'end call', absentmindedly looking at the number. "Hm." He handed the phone back to Genos. "Hey, Master?" "Yeah?" "Did anything strange happen during your date?" "Not really. Unless you count floating." "I see." He bowed. "I'm going to bed. I suggest you do the same."

"Maybe never." She closed her phone, putting it away in her nightstand. She touched her lips, reminiscing their moment before turning off her lights.

She heard her phone vibrate and turned her lights back on.

 _S: Hey Tam, wanna come over tomorrow?_

 _.T: I'll be over at 2 . It's late, good night. 3_

She sighed contently and put her phone back in the nightstand.

* * *

"Tamaki." She scowled at the source. "What?" He motioned for her to follow him to a more secluded part of the street. "I came to congratulate on you and Master getting together. I would also advise that you be more careful." "Is that all?" "No. Master did also say he liked kissing you." She scoffed, trying to avoid his eyes. "No he didn't. He wouldn't tell you, at least." She walked back to the busy street without another word.

"He didn't seem to mind." He called out before walking into a nearby store.

* * *

"Saitama!" She ran up to hug him, jumping up to wrap her arms around his neck.

"Looks like I caught you again." He held her closer. "I bet I could catch you." She stuck her tongue out playfully.

"Oh really?" He set her on the ground, walking a few feet away from her. "Do it." He bent his knees and jumped up, creating a small crater.

"Saiii! I should do something!" Her arms were flailing and she was pacing rapidly back and forth.

"I'm on my way down!" She heard him shout.

"What the hell?!" She sighed. "Damn it Saitama." Thrusting her arms out, she stepped closer to the crater. She saw both her hands and a free falling Saitama enveloped in a bright green glow.

He landed gently, then wrapped his arms around Tamaki.

"Well, you did catch me." He bent down, giving her a peck on the cheek. "Thanks hon."

She pouted, remaining silent.

"You really scared me you know?" She turned away from him, overdramatizing herself. "I don't think a kiss on the cheek is going to make me feel better." She continued teasing him.

Gently turning her back around, he leaned forward and kissed her on the lips.

They pulled away, grinning.

"Better now?" "Very."

"You know, you don't have to hide your powers from me." "I.." "Tam?"

A light blush appeared on her face. "I needed a reason to meet you. I've seen you around, beating up monsters. Leaving without a sign of who you were. If I had tried with my powers that day, you would've just took off."

"I think it's awesome you have powers Tam." He picked her up, spinning her around.

"But I would've stayed. I didn't have anywhere to be."

He rested his head against hers.

"Hey Sai, we've been out here a while."

"We should go inside."

"Video games again?" "Yeah, maybe."

* * *

"4:00 pm. I should give them more time alone." Genos continued browsing through the grocery store.

* * *

 **I made it before the end of the month! :D Again, thanks a lot for the support! To be honest, I kind of didn't like the last chapter, so that's why I took longer with this one.**

 **2 chapters left to go..well technically one more and an epilogue.**

 **I feel like this is as OOC as it'll get. See you guys in August.**


	11. Waiting

**Reviews:**

 **miczsfar: (You'll see the reason behind his 'stupidity' here. :D)**

 **Maraderchik: (It took them 10 chapters to get together. And early on I wanted the timeline to follow how fast I updated the chapters lol.)**

 **OrionisRigel: (This chapter is mainly from Saitama's and Genos' point of view, so hopefully it'll answer that, and rip Tats)**

 **Angryhenry: (Mood.)**

* * *

"Master, I have a question." Genos was behind Saitama as he was reading a manga. "What is it?" "Have you ever been to Tamaki's place?" "No." He stated, not looking up from his reading. "Is it because she hasn't invited you?" "Dude, I'm not gonna force Tats to show me her place." He chuckled dryly.

"My apologies, I didn't mean to across that way, but aren't you at le-" Genos furrowed his brow. "'Tats." He meant for it to come across as a question, but it came out as an affirmation. "Oh. Thought you knew." He moved the book down temporarily to look at Genos.

"We have a date this Saturday, so I'll get this week's groceries tomorrow." He brought the book back up to his face and flipped a page. Genos nodded, and began walking away, understanding that Saitama didn't want to elaborate further.

"If it doesn't bother him, there must be a reason why he won't say anything." He thought to himself as he looked over various of his own journals. "I wonder if he knows why she did it."

He felt he knew the exact reason why Saitama wouldn't tell her, and it was because of one word he didn't think his master could ever be.

* * *

"Looks like I just need to head to one more store and I'm done." Saitama thought to himself, calmly walking through the semi-deserted streets. He noticed Tatsumaki flying nearby, but looked away when she turned to face him. He stole another glance at her, feeling a slight tug against his bag. Making sure she wasn't looking directly at his gaze, he loosened his grip on the bag, and saw a bright green glow around it. He looked up to be met with Tatsumaki's teasing grin as she twirled his bag around. "Hey Tats!" He saw her startled face, which made him grin before he continued on. "What's up, besides you?"

She playfully stuck her tongue out before hugging his bag close to her face as she began descending. "Hey." Now standing on the ground, she look upwards. "I'm down here, and I was just looking around the neighborhood." She let the bag hang loosely in her hands.

"And give my bag back?" He leaned down, looking at her directly in the eye. She brought the bag up to cover her face, although he could catch a hint of pink on her cheeks. "Here." She mumbled, as he gently tugged the bag back.

"Hey." She said suddenly. "Can I walk you home?" She looked up for a response.

"Thought we weren't going out till Saturday." He thought to himself before replying; "I'm actually not going home yet." "Oh." "But you can come with me to finish shopping, if you want." He reached out his free hand temporarily, before shoving it back in his pocket.

She nodded and he motioned for her to follow him.

* * *

"Hey, would've been back earlier but I ran into Tats." Saitama said, closing the door behind him. Genos looked up from his paperwork momentarily. "Did you go to her place?" He asked, shuffling through another page. "Nah, she helped me get the rest of the stuff." He tilted his head toward the doorway. "Are you sure you don't have anywhere to go?" Genos heard Saitama ask her, and he heard a muffled reply before hearing two sets of footsteps walk towards the kitchen.

He heard the rustling of grocery bags before rapid footsteps ran out the door. Looking up, he was surprised to see Saitama standing near an open fridge, and his hand on his cheek.

"Master did she?" " crap!" Saitama ran towards the still open door, Genos quickly closing the fridge.

Saitama quickly returned and shut the front door behind him. "I'll make dinner." He said quickly, motioning for Genos to move from the fridge.

He detected her nearby, but remained silent as he walked back to the table to continue with his paperwork, the sound of boiling water drowning out the sound of his papers shuffling.

* * *

A few days had passed since Tatsumaki had been at his place, and it was only a few hours before their date.

 _T:Hey Sai, I'm gonna be running late :(_

 _S: Its cool_

 _T: I'll meet you at the restaurant at 8_

"Here" Genos handed him an umbrella. "There's going to be a storm later." "Thanks Genos. I'm gonna start heading out." He waved behind him as he walked out of the apartment, closing the door behind him

"Might as well take my time." He thought to himself, walking at a leisurely pace towards the restaurant.

Making it near the door of the restaurant, he heard clacking on the pavement. Looking up, he saw Tamaki running towards the door, trying to catch her breath.

"Its on me." She said, pointing to herself. He nodded, pushing the door open for her.

* * *

"Hey, are you ok?" He asked, noticing that she kept tilting her head forward, in addition to her eyes being unfocused.

"Yeah, work has just been tiring lately." Her speech was slightly slurred, and she waved her hand dismissively.

"Oh, that sucks."" He frowned. "Where do you work anyways?" He asked, not thinking. "I'm a super." She slurred. "What?" "I'm a super secretary." She said a bit louder, her hands outstretched as if to emphasize her words.

"I don't think she ordered any alcohol." He thought to himself, before raising his hand. "Check please."

* * *

After drinking a bit of water, she assured him that she would be able to stand upright, but she didn't complain when he still continued to hold her.

"Take care of yourself,okay?" "Yeah I will." Her voice held an apologetic tone. "Sorry our date was cut short." She sighed. "There's always next week." He gave her a half smile.

"True." She let go of him. "Guess I'll head home then." She stood on the tip of her toes for a bit, leaning close to his face. He noticed a look of apprehension cross her face before her feet lied flat back on the ground. "Goodnight." She mumbled, walking off. He heard thunder off in the distance.

"You sure you don't want me to walk you home?" He gestured towards his umbrella.

"No, but thanks." She said, ducking under nearby trees.

"I'll walk nearby, just in case." He thought to himself, as a bolt of lightning striked and droplets started to fall on his head. In the corner of his eye, he saw her shivering. "Tats?" He whispered.

She started walking faster, her heels loudly clicking against the pavement as she turned into a nearby alleyway. She clutched onto the ends of her now drenched wig as she disappeared. He saw a hint of a glow before it flickered out.

* * *

Over their next few dates, he noticed that even with a (what she had told him at least) a full night of sleep, she didn't seem all there.

Her romantic gestures always seemed hesistant, and she rarely looked him in the eye.

When he leaned in to kiss her when the date was coming to a close, she either held her hands up, or shouted "Night!" and ran off.

"I'll just hold off on kissing her goodnight for a while." He thought, as he waited at the ticket booth for the carnival. He felt his phone vibrate and he pulled it out of his pocket.

 _T: Something came up last minute, can't come._

He thought of what to type for a moment before replying.

 _S: Its cool, maybe next weekend._

 _T: Boss just said I'd be working overtime next weekend too._

"Genos is in her class, he's never mentioned 'overtime.' " He thought, frowning. "Maybe she's trying to pratice telling me or something." He smiled to himself, before walking back home.

* * *

"I see the date went well." He commented as Saitama walked through the door with a grin on his face.

"There wasn't one. She couldn't make it." He grinned slightly wider. "Then why are you smiling?"

"In two weeks, its Tats and I's first date." He was confused momentarily. "Ah I see. Best of luck then, Master." He gave him a thumbs up. "Oh, is there still some dinner left over? I forgot to get something on the way back here." Genos nodded, walking towards the fridge. "Thanks."

"Master, can I ask you something?" He said apprehensively. "Yeah, what is it?" "Why do you think she's hiding it?"

"Its not really any of my buisness." He shrugged. "Do you want to know my answer?" "Sure, go ahead."

"It may have something to do with Hero Association rules. Perhaps heroes aren't allowed to date each other, otherwise there might be trouble."

"Well, we'll make it work if that's the case."

* * *

He waited patiently for a week for any udpdates from Tatsumaki.

He was surprised to see he had a missed call waiting for him when he came back from a monster fight.

"Its not till next week, but I'm fine with it being earlier." He thought to himself as he called back.

"I didn't have my phone with me till now. What's up?"

"Can we meet up at around 9 pm tomorrow? At the park?"

"Sure-" She abruprly ended the call. "Okay then." He put his phone back on the table.

* * *

He noticed that she had already arrived, and was looking around for him.

He held the peonies behind his back with a firm grip, slowly walking up to surprise her. She noticed bim in the corner of her eye and walked towards him.

"Saitama." She said, directly facing him. "I'm.."

He could feel his heart rate increase slightly. "So close." He thought to himself, slightly confused as to why she was looking at the ground and clenching her fist.

"I'm.." He began to loosen his grip on the flowers , bringing them out in front of him.

"I'm breaking up with you :" She lifted her head back up as she said the last word, her eyes shimmering with sadness.

"What?" He quickly hid the peonies behind his back.

"I'm moving and I don't know if I could do this." She continued on as though she didn't hear him.

"Saitama, you're wonderful, and I don't regret us dating one bit. Maybe someday I'll see you again."

He felt her arms wrap around him as he did the same, trying to find his words.

"Please stay." He whispered as she let go. She gave him a weak smile, and his hand brushed against hers, placing a flower in her hand.

"I really like you, Tatsumaki."

* * *

 **AN: It was a fun writing from Saitama's and Genos' points of view. This chapter would've been out earlier, but I'm visiting relatives so I couldn't find the time to finish editing.**

 **Final chapter should be out next week though, I just need to finish editing it.**


	12. Ta(tsu)maki

**Reviews:**

 **Angryhenry: ( *Kool-Aid man voice*: O h ye a h)**

 **OrionisRigel: (Its a good thing Sai is a pretty chill guy, and rip Tats)**

 **Dudtheman: (I'm glad you liked the chapter and the story :) )**

 **Logan2463336: (:D)**

 **miczsfar: (Hopefully this chapter will wrap things up :D)**

 _Italics are for both texts and memories this chapter._

* * *

It sounded ridiculous to herself, but she couldn't help it.

What was first a disguise for a sneak attack was now a disguise for romantic endeavors.

"I can handle this.A double life isn't too bad." She said to herself, checking herself over in tbe mirror.

She was ready to head out, purse in hand, when her phone rang. Already knowing who it was, she didn't bother checking the caller id when she picked it up. "What is it?" She sighed. "Miss Tatsumaki, there are two Dragon Level threats by the coast. A helicopter is coming to pick you up momentarily." She hung up, checking the time. "Six o'clock, damn it!" She hissed, tossing her wig aside and hastily putting on her hero outfit. "This better be quick!"

After quickly killing the two monsters, she was flown back to her apartment. Typing out a text to Saitama, she yet again put on her date outfit before rushing out the door.

* * *

To avoid further slip ups, she repeated in her mind the differences between herself and Tamaki whilst she was running to the restaurant.

 _Tamaki_ and Saitama were dating, _Tatsumaki_ and Saitama were friends.

Powers versus (formerly) lack thererof.

"I should probably see him next week and apologize." She thought back to a few days before.

 _"Hey, thanks again for helping with the groceries." Saitama said, putting the last bag away._

 _"It was no problem. I got to go now, see you soon." She floated up and kissed his cheek._

 _Realizing what'd she done, she ran out the door, not bothering to close it behind her._

 _He came out looking for her, before he shut the door and went back inside._

"It must've been my imagination, there's no way he smiled!"

Seeing him and the restaurant getting closer, she brushed off any further thoughts in order to enjoy their date.

It ended earlier when he saw how exhausted she was.

* * *

On their next few dates, she decided she would try to make up for the restaurant date,

She brushed her hand against his, although immediately retracted when he said "Tam." Frowning at her own actions, she tried again, before deciding to give up.

She was surprised when he leaned in to kiss her goodnight, and was leaning in herself when a sickening thought brewed in her mind. "This isn't me."

She quickly brought up her arms in an X-position, and ran off without a single excuse as to why; doing something similar on the date that followed.

* * *

Scrolling through pictures of the two of them on her phone, she sighed to herself.

"Should I really do this? Get rid of the girl he likes?"

Sinking under her covers, she was deep in thought, her eyes glazing her room. Stopping on the calendar, her eyes widened when she realized she was supposed to be getting ready for their carnival date.

 _T: Something came up last minute, can't come_

 _S: Its cool, maybe next weekend._

She winced, looking for an excuse to not see him for a bit longer.

 _T: Boss just said I'd be working overtime next weekend too._

Grabbing an old notepad, she decided to write down reasons.

Reasons to keep Tamaki:

-It was the only way to have romantic endeavors with Saitama

-He liked having her around, at one point even satisfied that he made a friend that was a local citizen.

Admitidely, one of the reasons was selfish.

She thought of reasons to get rid of her alternate persona.

-Disguise added to her routine

-She didn't like being called something that wasn't her name/hero name

-Saitama had feelings for a girl that didn't even exist

Dismayed, yet not surprised, at the outnumbered (even if it was by one) reasons to keep Tamaki, she decided it was best to bid her alternate person farewell.

"I don't want her to just disappear without reason. But what other way makes sense?"

.

.

.

"Can we meet up at around 9 pm tomorrow? At the park?"

"We'll still be together." She thought, as she ended the call. "But just as friends."

* * *

"I'm breaking up with you." She heard him mumble something but continued forward, trying her best to hurry so she wouldn't have second thoughts about it.

She wrapped her arms around him in what was meant to a quick hug, although said nothing when he embraced her for longer. Pulling away, she was surprised to see a flower in her hand.

"I really like you, Tatsumaki."

"What?" She looked up shock.

His demeanor was odd to see, as he was scratching his neck nervously, and both his eyes and smile held a shyness to them.

"Did you say..Tatsumaki?" She covered her face with her hands, her eyes widening along with a grin.

"That's your name, isn't it?" He looked utterly confused.

She remained quiet, not sure whether to panic or jump for joy.

"Sorry, maybe I did get it wrong." He smiled sheepishly. "What?" She repeated, then shook her head.

"I thought I had figured out you were Tatsumaki in disguise, but uhh.." He held out the rest of the flowers, an apologetic grin on his face.

"No, no you're right." She sighed, gently tugging at her wig until it came completely off, letting it hang loosely in her hands. "No denying it now. Its me, Tatsumaki."

They both remained silent for a bit as he stepped closer to her. She flinched at his unreadable expression.

"Are you disappointed?"

"Nah. Just wonderin'..does that wig itch?" She tried to hide her laugh, but a small snort came out.

"Really? That's your question? Not 'Why the disguise?' or something?" She paused.

"And yeah, a little." She scratched her head a bit.

"Well that's a bummer. I was gonna borrow it." He pouted jokingly. She sighed, rolling her eyes good naturedly.

"Oh yeah. 'Why the disguise? ' " He raised an eyebrow, a slight smirk on his face. She narrowed her eyes, tossing the wig in a nearby trashcan. "You're lucky you're cute, otherwise I'd call you out for being a smartass."

* * *

"Huh."

The two were now sitting on a bench, Tatsumaki leaning against his shoulder.

"Didn't you ask me once if I was okay with fighting you?" "Yep. Does that offer still stand?"

He nodded. Tatsumaki jolted off his shoulder, confusing him. "Hey wait, how'd you or when did you find out?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"Three months ago." He stated, his facial expression remaining neutral. "Genos even told me a- nevermind." He chuckled.

"What'd he say?" She pouted. "He had a theory that the Association didn't allow hero couples or something." He shrugged. She scowled slightly. "He made a stupid theory? He already knew."

"Well, didn't know that part, but thanks for telling me." He had a teasing glint in his eyes. "Jerk." She huffed, although a smile appeared on her face as she hugged the peonies to her chest.

"The wig and your eyes kinda gave it away, if you wanted to know." He said teasingly. She playfully stuck her tongue out.

"Are you still leaving?" He asked, frowning. She shook her head vigorously. "No, Tamaki was leaving. I'm staying." He smiled, ruffling her hair. "Good." His phone vibrated. Confused, he took out his phone and flipped it open.

 _G: Is the date going well? Has she revealed herself?_

"Hey Tats, its Genos." He said, showing her the text. "Can I see your phone for a bit?" She asked, moving closer to him. "Sure?" He wrapped an arm around her. Positioning his phone camera, she snapped a picture of the two of them. "There's his answer." She giggled, handing his phone back.

"Guess I'll change this to my wallpaper now." He kissed her forhead before pushing some buttons on his phone.

"Its getting pretty late. Want me to walk you home?" He asked, getting off the bench. "Its a pretty long walk." She followed in suit. "Oh, that's fine. Is it downtown or something?" He reached for her hand. She averted her eyes. "Actually, I don't live in City Z." His raised an eyebrow. "So, where do you live?" "City A." She said shyly. Saitama blinked at her words, but remained silent. "You don't have to walk me if you don't wan-" "Did you just fly here everytime?" She nodded, twirling a curl as she explained. "Well, mostly. I had to walk sometimes if the city was busier." He got closer and pulled her into a quick hug. "When the next date comes around, you can call me to pick you up." He pulled away, quicking scooping her up into a bridal style carry. "Literally." He waited while she secured her arms around his neck before dashing off.

* * *

He gently set her down upon arriving at her apartment "Well, that was fun." She said, unsure of what else she could say. "Yep. Just call me whenever you wanna go on that date." He winked. "I'll keep that in mind." She smirked.

He bent down, cupping her face in his hands. "Its not the first time we've kissed, but I still feel so nervous." She thought, slowly leaning closer.

It felt warm and comforting as she wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him closer. As the two separated, her heart fluttered at the love present in his eyes.

"Goodnight Saitama, I'll see you tomorrow." She kissed him on the cheek. "I love flowers by the way..and you." Not waiting for a response. she ran inside her apartment, trying her best to hide her laughter.

In the hallway was a beaming, internally flustered, Saitama. "See you then, Tatsumaki."

* * *

 **AN: Thanks a ton for the support! Even though the first few chapters went through long hiatuses, most of you stuck around and that makes me super happy :D.**

 **I'll probably come back and edit some chapters for spelling mistakes and stuff of that sort, but I kind of want to keep the first 2 chapters as is; it astounded me how much my writing style changed in a year, and I like to see my own improvement.**

 **This'll go on Wattpad too, because why not lol.**

 **Am I gonna make another Saitatsu story? Well, the people who follow me on tumblr (and people who found me on Deviantart) can speculate what AU version of them I'll write next.. all I'll say is I hope its Shrektacular. (That and 3 months ago I said a one-shot, so that'll come soon too.)**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed my first fic, there's more to come :D!**


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